As an adventurous silversmith, making boxes should be a part of my skill set; but was not up until this past weekend.

Two weeks ago, I set about planning how I would accomplish that skill set via planned projects and every increasing difficulty.

Here is the progression of projects done in bras as brass is the closest to sterling silver in how it behaves so I can work out the process before committing to sterling.

Small round box with a flush seam and slip lid

Large/Tall “round” box with a keyed seam and slip lid. The taller the box, the harder it is to heat resulting in the flush seam possibly shifting where as a keyed seam locks it in place.

Square/Rectangular box with mitered corners and slip lid

Square/Rectangular box (mitered corners again) with a hinge and a small clasp which has yet to be determined if I can make – I have a book on various clasps

A round box with a hinge and small clasp

I will eventually do some chasing and repousse on the boxes, not these but others made for a C&R project but first, one must learn to make boxes. To that end, pulled out my silversmithing books and read up on box making. I also sent a list of questions I came up with after my reading, to my mentor Liza, the Silversmith.

Saturday morning, I went into the studio, pulled out some brass and got to work. I was in the studio about 8 hours though not all of it was making the box. First I had to design the box and figure out what I could make with the brass I had and cut it. Then as the box construction progressed - soldering, sawing, filing/sanding, and polishing, there was quite a bit of down time as I waited for the metal to have the oxides to be removed in the pickle, then washing and scrubbing; calculating the size and making of the bezel to fit the lid. I normally track my time but for this I did not since I knew that with all that thinking, the manufacturing time would not be valid. At 5 pm I was done and I was quite proud of what I had made and accomplished let alone not screwing it up! I was also so focused on making the box, I did not take any process pictures but here is the box finished. It is about 1.7” in diameter and just over 1” tall, with a slightly domed top.

With my first box under my belt, I decided to make another “round” box, on Sunday, using sterling. My brass box was made with 20 g but the silver box would be from 18 g and I would have to coat all the silver pieces, with borax when I did any heating or soldering to prevent fire stain. When I first went into the studio at 9 am, the first thing I did was turn on the hot plate with my enamel pot filled borax water to re-dissolve the super saturated solution as the borax which had precipitated, as crystals and fallen out of the solution over the past few weeks as it had cooled. I found a good piece of silver and made my measurements and cut the pieces for the walls, top and bottom plate, and the bezel. I stamped my makers mark on the top and bottom plates marking that for the bottom, the mark was on the outside but for the lid, the mark was on the inside; and I marked the material as “sterling”.

First up was borax-ing and then annealing the piece that would be the walls, pickling and cleaning. I filed the edges where the side seam would be, formed a tube and used binding wire to hold it tight, against heat expansion; I then coated it in borax, soldered the seam, and put it back in the pickle. I formed the shape of my tube, into an ovoid so there was only one way to put the lid on. Next up was soldering the base plate with more borax coating of course. I then cut what would be the wall for the top, from the part that was the bottom of the box followed by borax coating the top plate and soldering it to the wall for the top. Then everything was cleaned, again.

Now that both parts of the box were soldered to their respected plates and separated it was time to file and sand the mating edges to get them flat as and smooth as well as filing and sanding the plates flush with the walls – that took some time. After that was completed, I created and soldered the bezel into the top of the lid, again applying the borax coat and cleaning afterwards in pickle and finishing with warm soapy water.

The box construction was done, time to polish it all up BUT I had a problem, there was a lot of fire stain all over the box. This was rather annoying considering the care I took to coat my surfaces with borax and it then required me to do a “polish” with an aggressive compound to polish it out which removes the silver on top of the oxides and the oxide layer to get to un-oxidized silver below it. I probably spent almost an hour polishing, cleaning and verifying each surface until I had it all removed; then I could finally do a 3 step polish and be really really done.

Overall I was in the studio over 8 hours on Sunday, I remember to take some pictures and record the actual working time which was about 5 hours but I know that with every box I make, the time it takes will go down as I now know the basic process.

After I completed my Art Nouveau cuff last month, a friend asked to make one for herself (she is a cuff person, like me) so we scheduled a private session for her but I should note that she is a metalsmithing novice having only made a small bowl back in June. Barbara was aware that making the cuff was going to be intense with lots of information about technique and tools to absorb as she worked on the cuff but she was game. Oh, and I would be making a cuff, as well, along side her since I had received a commission for one.

We started off measuring her wrist so we could size the cuff and marking it. Then it was time to saw the outside and do the pierce work. I only broke 3 saw blades but Barbara broke 12 but she now knows how to saw.

Next up was the filing and sanding - along the outside edges and inside the pierced areas.

After that it was on to the polishing, forming the cuff, and then patina. Barbara said she wanted a traditional LOS patina which is to get the silver black/gray all over then polishing the high points back so the nooks and crannies are dark; to which I said OK but she was getting a lesson in how to work with LOS which, if you do it MY way, will results in some colors ranging from golds, raspberry, purples, and blues - before you ever get to the gray and black. We mixed up the LOS and started dipping and rinsing. First Barbara got golds and was surprised; then a hint of raspberry, still commenting that it was interesting but would like it to go black - I said "Patience Grasshopper!". The colors then started to darken and she had purples and blues - and she stopped! Barbara was amazed at the color and was now reconsidering. We quickly polished up the high spots, put her cuff on and decided that she was DONE!!

Here is a mini movie I made, with music, from pictures I took, of her making her cuff.

I was taught to polish my work in a few random classes I took over the years but I have never really taken a class on POLISHING. In my private raising class with Nechamkin Silver Studios, Liza walked me through a 3 step polishing process when I finished the tumbler.

I thought, up until then that I was "polishing" - oh, was I wrong.

It was after that workshop that I bought an assortment of the Rio Grande polishing compounds, for silver a bunch buffs and taught myself how to polish. I then added a few courser compounds for tools (brown, yellow and white). I keep all the buffs and compounds marked and separated in plastic bags since you don't want tool steel bits to get into copper, silver OR gold! I also clean my piece after each compound so they don't transfer to the next buff!

To clean the Rio Sunsheen compounds I found the Formula 409 cuts the grease and I then use a soft toothbrush to scrub it, then I put it in warm soapy water in an ultrasonic cleaner for at least 15 minutes. Of course has to be changed after each stage of polishing too. Yes, this takes a lot of time and is a PITA (pain in the a**)

A few weeks ago, on Rio, I stumbled up a video about some compounds made by Luxi - these use a vegetable fat vs. a grease making it easier to clean. I bought the assortment, which has all the compounds in mini-bars along with some new buffs and started to try them.

Let's just say I will be switching - The polishing seems to go faster and the clean up is so easy.

Today I finished my 2nd dragon scale cup and here are 4 pictures - no polish to final polish. I used the green, purple/pink, and red compounds and gets brighter and more reflective in each step.

So how can you learn to polish get 3 or 5 compounds. I can't give you colors because that varies by manufacturer but with 3 compounds it should be a bobbing, medium, and final grade. With 5 you want course for scratch removal, bobbing, pre-polish, polish and final.

Then I suggest taking a large piece of copper and scratch is with 220 grit sand paper. Then cut it in to even squares; 4 for a 3 phase polish or 6 for a 5 phase polish. Set one square aside as this will be saved for your starting sample. Then take your first polish and polish all the pieces and clean and dry your metal and set one aside. Repeat with all of the compounds your bought - polish all the remains samples, clean, and set one aside; repeat. When you are done you will have a set of samples worked with each compound and through all the phases.

Several weeks ago I bought a fine silver stamping from PotterUSA, this was made from a die (female) that was made from the vintage hob (male) that was purchased when the Frank Morrow Company closed it's doors last year; the hob is over 100 years old. This stamping is from a die that requires a massive amount of tonnes because the die is so big and deep and to get a good result. Kevin used 5 ounces of silver resulting in the piece being 16 gauge thick!

So what was I going to do with it? Make a cuff, of course; even though I could do something like this via chasing & repousse, it was a challenge for me to take the stamping and turn it into something - so I started to ponder what I would do. I figured I would do some piercing but how much? What would I do to the side sections of the cuff so they weren't plain? Would I screw it up having not done something like this before.

I started my ponderings by making a copy/scan of the stamping and drawing on it - where was I going to pierce, how long did I need to make it so the cuff would fit me, how wide would it be. I did 3 or 4 copies with ideas.

It was now time to stop pondering and to start the project!

So yesterday, was the day to start the project and my goal was to have it finished by this afternoon - which I did, yeah me!I tracked the hours it took - 14 from start to finish. I went through 5 saw blades but having never done this much piercing before, I think that is pretty reasonable. I had to use many needle files to get into all the nooks and crannies from the sawing and I had to stay relaxed by keeping my shoulders down, not using the grip of death on the saw and breathing through my mouth; this prevents you from clamping down on your jaw and that results in overall body tension.

What skills did I use that were not ones I normally use because I don't make much jewelry:

Sawing a.ka. piercing

Filing

Sanding

Drilling

When I was all done, I weighed the piece and it was almost HALF the original starting weight of 5 ounces; the final weight ended up at 2.4 ounces; that's a lot of material cut away but it will be recast into sheet for another project.

When all the sawing and filing was done, I did a pre-polish to smooth all the edges and to see if I needed to get rid of any major scratches, I did not. Then I coated the silver in flux and annealed; the flux goes glassy when the silver gets to annealing temperature. Then I did a real 3 step polish, inside and out - white, green and red to get everywhere nice and bright - plus a good cleaning in between each polish. Once all that was done, it was time to pull out the bracelet mandrel and time to bend the silver into a cuff and my anneal was good enough that I was able to do it with my hands!

Lastly I mixed up some Liver of Sulfur thinking that the antique look would add some depth to the flower details but as I am working the piece, I see the patina going gold and I knew that I had to keep this as the patina; I slowly kept swirling the cuff in the LOS solution and knowing that LOS can go dark at a moment's notice, I worked slow and ended up with a great gold color TIME TO STOP! A rinse and dry with a clean cotton cloth and it was done.​ I also took loads of pictures, as usual so enjoy them.

For the past 4 weekends, I have been at the Austin and San Antonio Tandy Leather stores upping my skills in leather working. I have learned how to use a swivel knife and how to tool; hand stitching, and dying and finishing.

Last weekend, I tried to make another cover, this time for a 8 1/2" by 5" notebook (see here for my small book covers and adventures in leather) and let's just say it was a bit of a failure, so moving on...

I spent the week watching some more video's and asking question in the leather group I belong to and yesterday I started another cover which I just finished.

As you can see on this cover, I used a frame to mount a chasing & repousse panel, I did some decorative stamping, hand stitching and an overall dye color.

I did find a few things that I have to change/improve before I start making these and the smaller books, to sell. I did not add antiquing which would put a dark color in the tools (patina as we could call it for metals) and as you can see my panel is off center, due to the tooling, and card holder is a bit off kilter - but I learned lots. ​​

Two years and some odd months ago, I started this project - then the move and no studio kept me from finishing it. When I unpacked the studio, and I got around to organizing my chasing & repousse equipment, I found the cup and put it on the counter with the other projects I wanted to get back to. This weekend was it, having 4 days off.

The dragon scale cup, when I resumed work on Thursday, was filled with pitch and the lining of the of the scales had been completed. Before I started the deep chasing, I decided to pull the pitch out, re-anneal the cup and then refill the cup and let it cool.

Next up was placing the cup in the pitch bowl such that is was supported but could also be rotated around, so I could work the entire cup. This was taught to my by Liza Nechamkin of Nechamkin Silver Studios.- again everything had to cool so the pitch would support, not yield, nor crack so the vessel has to be pushed into the pitch bowl almost half way. A plastic bag is used to cover the vessel so the pitch does not stick to it.

Saturday, I was able to start the deep chasing; to push the areas around the scales inward and keep the scales at their original position around the cup diameter. Once that was done which took three turns around the cup to get all the scales, I then pondered texturing the scales.

Are scales like nails on our hands that have ridges; do scales have growth lines that follow the shape of the scale? This was the dilemma I now faced. I did some Googling and asked in the Chasing & Repousse group for ideas and I came up with an idea for radiating ridge lines.

Today, Saturday, I started to add the lines and the more I did, the more I did not like them so I stopped and left two scales un-done (no lines). Since this is a practice piece, this is what it all about; figuring out what works and does not.

It was now time to remove the pitch and do a high polish with all three grades of compound, then to patina the copper so the deep area's are dark and a quick polish to re-polish the scales and to remove the patina. I finished around 6 pm.

​Here are all the pictures from the last 3 days of work, I hope you enjoy them.

I spent part of this weekend learning some basic leather working skills.

Why?

Well, 3 -4 years ago I worked on a series of leather journal covers with a riveted metal panel that had chasing & repousse designs. And even though they are all in the hands of others, I knew that this was something that I wanted to continue to make and eventually sell but the move to Texas and not having a studio interfered with my ability to resume this work. Having a studio again, and having everything unpacked, I was finally able to do something about that and earlier in the month, I signed up for 3 leather workshops - this weekend was tooling, then I will have a workshop on sewing by hand and with a machine; and then a class by about dying.

These will give me the basic skills to raise the visual appeal of the covers.

What did I learn this weekend in the tooling class? I learned pattern transfer, casing (wetting) the leather, using a swivel knife, and 6 basic tool techniques using a Camouflage, pear shader, beveler, veiner, seeder and background stamps. We had a scrap of leather where we could practice with a specific tool and then we tooled a flower on a leather coaster.

I did find that my chasing and repousse skills helped me understand how to not only hold the tools but to hammer and move the tools to even work; the teacher even commented that my "beginner" skills were very good.

Last year, after we move to Texas, I re-branded this site from The Adventurous Silversmith to The Adventurous Smith. I was having an identity crisis because I was thinking of giving up metal work (yes and I never told any one - GASP!!) and I thought I would focus more on fiber related things like weaving, temari, yubinuki, sewing and such. Now, a year after that thought, I have come to the conclusion that I AM a metalsmith who will do fiber and even leather work on the side.

Yesterday I held the inaugural class in my new workshop/studio. The class subject was sinking a simple copper bowl for beginners and was aimed at learning basic skills - working with a torch (annealing), using a jewelers saw (rounding the corners of a copper square), sanding, polishing, hammering (sinking and basic planishing) and observing soldering (adding the ring bases). We also discussed shop safety, the tools and equipment used and assembling a toolbox to take to classes.

My students were Barbara, Irma, and Nancy. I know Barbara and Irma and Nancy is a friend of Irma's so it was a friendly and relaxed class.

I started the day, before they arrived, annealing, winding, and sawing the ring bases for their bowls. The ladies arrived just before 10 am and into the studio we went! After "The Safety Discussion", the ladies stamped their initials in the center of one side - this would become the bottom/outside of the bowl. Then they learned how to use the jewelers saw to round the corners. We moved on to sanding the edges and how to make sanding sticks. I then demonstrated polishing the copper to soften all edges and to remove the scratches, while the copper was flat so there was less work to do after the bowl was formed. Then came the hammering - sinking into the custom wood forms I have had made over the years, and how to anneal in-between each round of going deeper. When each was happy with the shape and depth of their dish it was time to go to the stake stump and they learned planishing and after that I worked with each of them to solder a ring base on; I did the soldering but they assisted by watching for the flow of the solder and turning the turntable, so I could focus on heating and soldering; they also quenched their dishes and put it in the pickle. Lastly, they did a final polish and their bowls were done.

As we sat around the table, after the class, discussing what they learned they asked what they could learn next! I guess I need to start planning another class.

Several months ago I read an article about a new exhibition about Vincent van Gogh and that it was to be at the Museum of Fine Arts - Houston AND this was to be the ONLY place to see this exhibit because it is/was organized by the MFAH in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo. The exhibit spotlights everything from landscapes to portraits and spans his life as an artist, from early sketches to final paintings.

So being a fan I had to go. My friend Denese, a fellow weaver, also is a fan so we decided to make a weekend of it and THIS weekend (Memorial Day) was it.

We drove up to Houston on Saturday afternoon and settled into a nice AirBnB near the museum. We found a great Indian restaurant for dinner and went for the 5 course tasting menu - I wanted to lick the plates it was so good; the conversation was great too. Sunday we went over to the museum and even though it was not open yet, the lines were long - to purchase tickets or those who had tickets. We bought our tickets on line and paid just a bit more for premium entry which allowed us a higher priority to be admitted and it was worth it as there was were only 2 people a head of us in the premium line. When the museum opened we were allowed to go right in and the galleries were empty!

We were there 3 hours looking and reading and by the time we left it was very crowded.

Overall it was well worth the trip. The works were displayed along with cases of his sketch books; similar art supplies, enlarged letters to his brother, Theo, and commentaries of what was happening in his life and where he was living.